The Effect of a Parenting Intervention on Relationship Quality of Recently Deployed Military Service Members and Their Partners

Couples form the foundation of military families. However, on average, couples become significantly less satisfied with their relationships and marriages across the deployment cycle. Reduced satisfaction places partners at risk for psychological distress and family problems. The present study examines the effects of a family based reintegration program aimed at enhancing reflective functioning in recently deployed service members and their home-front partners on relationship satisfaction. Results reveal that most dyads report being satisfied in their relationship at baseline. However, greater couple distress was related to more psychological distress in both partners. For spouses, intervention had a positive, significant effect on relationship satisfaction. Variations in relative risk for couple distress among service members and their spouses highlight the need to assess both partners to clarify risk factors and modifiable targets of intervention. Public Policy Relevance Statement Families form the backbone of the military; thus, to ensure mission readiness and comprehensive care of military personnel, we need to include military families in our scope of care. This study looks at how military couples report on their relationship satisfaction and examines the potential of a postdeployment, parenting intervention to improve relationship quality over time. It is important that policymakers continue to support interventions that improve the quality of military family relationships across the deployment cycle.